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Got a mate who found an advert selling a Subaru Gen3 electric PS rack.
Ive not known Subaru to do an electric power steering rack. Theres an electric motor mounted to the steering input shaft and it seems to have the two regular hard lines to the rack.
Anyone know any info about this sort of setup and if so, what model it came from?
Cheers
Bennie
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Bennie’s 1985(!!) EA81 MY station wagon
09 July 2023 - 10:23 PM
Gday all,
This is one of those whoops moments. Wasnt looking for another project, just chanced upon this helping a mate chase down some parts!
To do the typical specs run down like others do in their build thread, this one is a bit of a pisstake:
Drivetrain:
Standard bulletproof 1.8L EA81 with dual range 4 speed manual gearbox, 3.7 diff ratio
Wheels:
I believe an optional Sunraysia style 13 inch steel rims. Stock size tyres of some sort, about 23 inch diametre from memory.
Interior:
Shot to say the least. Rat infested, sun bleached/damaged/perished; stinky but still with that hint of 80s Subaru Ive been left closed up too long in the sun type smell. Those that know the smell will attest to it, its a distinct smell a bit like weed, but not.
Body:
Looks to be quite rust free for sitting in a wreckers with its front end essentially in a mud puddle for Subi-gods knows how many seasons. Its got two spots on the passengers side rail in the door jamb that Im quite happy with given its age. Floor covering removal might tell another story or three even though the undercarriage/floor pan looks good.
All fixed glass rubbers are shot, some gaps where its split I can fit my index finger between what used to be joined!
Stez:
Looks to be the original button and dial AM/FM radio, no cassette or CD (what were they in the early 80s??) option fitted. Works too! Dunno how many speakers yet, havent paid attention to that. But it once had a set of 6x9s fitted in the rear tailgate panel goin by the holes left over.
Other points of interest:
Sports a faded 2011 Mt Hotham seasons vehicle parking permit - same year we were up there for our last season working in the snow! I dont remember seeing it around though.
Has an aftermarket AC compressor and wiring fitted - something to look more into later
I bought this having seen it for a short period of time and not really being able to thoroughly check everything out before saying yes and collecting it from the yard several hours drive from home. I didnt even check the oil level or to see if the engine turned over freely by hand! Got spares so wasnt overly concerned. Just wanted it out of the yard and not being scrapped since it seemed so rust free!
To me its a bit of an oddball one as Ive always known the EA81 platform to end in 1984 with exception to the brumby that continued into 1991. So heres my 1985 Subaru station wagon - base model spec - coming home for the first time:
Upon further inspection its had a full touring wagon interior swap with exception of the dashboard that remains the standard short dash same as a stock brumby - fuel, temp, speedo, indicator lights etc and clock (this one seems to work too - common for them not to!).
Things it is/was missing:
- front struts
- PS rack (touring wagon swap job, the station wagon is a manual rack from factory)
- exhaust Y pipe
I refitted a set of front struts before it was forked onto the trailer. This made tying it to the trailer easier and rolling it off the trailer was a piece of piss with front wheels holding up the front end!
Its still without a rack and exhaust Y pipe for now. Id like to find another PS rack, theres a bit of a story about it for another time. It might be returned to a manual rack so I can easily move it around in the mean time.
And todays little bit of play time saw several scenes like this (thanks Subarino Dave for sending back this screen shot from the video I shared with him!):
There was a small fire at the top of the carb where some fuel was sitting in the air cleaner area. It wasnt huge but if left it couldve burnt the paint off the housing.
It seemed that the timing was too far advanced, so I adjusted it with some guess work and the pops and farts became the noisy chorus of a strong running engine without an exhaust! Very stoked.
Also the fuel pump came to life at some point so I disconnected the fuel line and rerouted the incoming liquid varnish to an empty bottle. Seemed like the tank was pretty empty too which is good.
The only thing that seems to need to be swapped at the moment is the ignition switch. Currently you need to find the sweet spot for the key position when ON where the ignition actually works.
Pretty stoked with this little project so far. Not sure where it will go just yet but I do know I want to get it on club rego and drive it which will require some work. Ideally a respray would be on the cards but I cant say if or when this will happen. While replacing the fixed window rubbers would be a good time to do it.
Next move will be pulling out the interior to scrub up the panels, ditch the carpet, replace or repair the dashboard and have the seats reupholstered - something Im going to have to save some coin for as itll need to be done properly - hopefully this will help get rid of the smell!
Very happy that it fired up relatively easily today though! Ive also been warned that its the last vehicle Ill be dragging or driving home for some time which is a sad prospect, hopefully Ill get another brumby from a local paddock before long though (fingers crossed!). Time will tell!
If youve got this far on the story of Bennies latest nugget, well done! If you havent eaten, now is a good time to grab a bite to eat
Cheers
Bennie
This is one of those whoops moments. Wasnt looking for another project, just chanced upon this helping a mate chase down some parts!
To do the typical specs run down like others do in their build thread, this one is a bit of a pisstake:
Drivetrain:
Standard bulletproof 1.8L EA81 with dual range 4 speed manual gearbox, 3.7 diff ratio
Wheels:
I believe an optional Sunraysia style 13 inch steel rims. Stock size tyres of some sort, about 23 inch diametre from memory.
Interior:
Shot to say the least. Rat infested, sun bleached/damaged/perished; stinky but still with that hint of 80s Subaru Ive been left closed up too long in the sun type smell. Those that know the smell will attest to it, its a distinct smell a bit like weed, but not.
Body:
Looks to be quite rust free for sitting in a wreckers with its front end essentially in a mud puddle for Subi-gods knows how many seasons. Its got two spots on the passengers side rail in the door jamb that Im quite happy with given its age. Floor covering removal might tell another story or three even though the undercarriage/floor pan looks good.
All fixed glass rubbers are shot, some gaps where its split I can fit my index finger between what used to be joined!
Stez:
Looks to be the original button and dial AM/FM radio, no cassette or CD (what were they in the early 80s??) option fitted. Works too! Dunno how many speakers yet, havent paid attention to that. But it once had a set of 6x9s fitted in the rear tailgate panel goin by the holes left over.
Other points of interest:
Sports a faded 2011 Mt Hotham seasons vehicle parking permit - same year we were up there for our last season working in the snow! I dont remember seeing it around though.
Has an aftermarket AC compressor and wiring fitted - something to look more into later
I bought this having seen it for a short period of time and not really being able to thoroughly check everything out before saying yes and collecting it from the yard several hours drive from home. I didnt even check the oil level or to see if the engine turned over freely by hand! Got spares so wasnt overly concerned. Just wanted it out of the yard and not being scrapped since it seemed so rust free!
To me its a bit of an oddball one as Ive always known the EA81 platform to end in 1984 with exception to the brumby that continued into 1991. So heres my 1985 Subaru station wagon - base model spec - coming home for the first time:
Upon further inspection its had a full touring wagon interior swap with exception of the dashboard that remains the standard short dash same as a stock brumby - fuel, temp, speedo, indicator lights etc and clock (this one seems to work too - common for them not to!).
Things it is/was missing:
- front struts
- PS rack (touring wagon swap job, the station wagon is a manual rack from factory)
- exhaust Y pipe
I refitted a set of front struts before it was forked onto the trailer. This made tying it to the trailer easier and rolling it off the trailer was a piece of piss with front wheels holding up the front end!
Its still without a rack and exhaust Y pipe for now. Id like to find another PS rack, theres a bit of a story about it for another time. It might be returned to a manual rack so I can easily move it around in the mean time.
And todays little bit of play time saw several scenes like this (thanks Subarino Dave for sending back this screen shot from the video I shared with him!):
There was a small fire at the top of the carb where some fuel was sitting in the air cleaner area. It wasnt huge but if left it couldve burnt the paint off the housing.
It seemed that the timing was too far advanced, so I adjusted it with some guess work and the pops and farts became the noisy chorus of a strong running engine without an exhaust! Very stoked.
Also the fuel pump came to life at some point so I disconnected the fuel line and rerouted the incoming liquid varnish to an empty bottle. Seemed like the tank was pretty empty too which is good.
The only thing that seems to need to be swapped at the moment is the ignition switch. Currently you need to find the sweet spot for the key position when ON where the ignition actually works.
Pretty stoked with this little project so far. Not sure where it will go just yet but I do know I want to get it on club rego and drive it which will require some work. Ideally a respray would be on the cards but I cant say if or when this will happen. While replacing the fixed window rubbers would be a good time to do it.
Next move will be pulling out the interior to scrub up the panels, ditch the carpet, replace or repair the dashboard and have the seats reupholstered - something Im going to have to save some coin for as itll need to be done properly - hopefully this will help get rid of the smell!
Very happy that it fired up relatively easily today though! Ive also been warned that its the last vehicle Ill be dragging or driving home for some time which is a sad prospect, hopefully Ill get another brumby from a local paddock before long though (fingers crossed!). Time will tell!
If youve got this far on the story of Bennies latest nugget, well done! If you havent eaten, now is a good time to grab a bite to eat
Cheers
Bennie
